Which to use
“hist” is an intj and “hit” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,524
- “hist” frequency rank
- #421
- “hit” frequency rank
- 34945
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hist | hit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An utterance used to discreetly attract someone's attention. | To strike. |
Where the eye mixes hist and hit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hist vs hit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hist is /hɪst/ while hit is /hɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hist is recorded at frequency rank #34,524, classified as anintj, pronounced /hɪst/. hit is at rank #421, tagged as averb, pronounced /hɪt/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 34945, this pair ranks #316,282 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hist vs hit
Shared letters: hit. Private to "hist": s. Private to "hit": -.
"hist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hit" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hist ← hhist · hisst · histt · ihst
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hist" for "hit" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hist" or "hit"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hist" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,282 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hist" and "hit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "HIIT vs hist". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #316,282 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.